This invention relates to a barbecue cooker which incorporates a briquet ignition and blower system which brings cold charcoal briquets to operating temperature within a few minutes. The cooker incorporates a multi-purpose elevator mechanism which delivers briquets at operating temperature to the char grill and evenly distributes them thereover. The char grill cooperates with the elevator mechanism to transport ashes out of the bowl of the cooker to a removable collection chamber.
The field of barbecue grill cookery has lacked substantial development in certain critical areas. One of the vexing problems with prior art cookers is their inability to quickly and evenly ignite and bring the fuel, charcoal briquets, to operating temperature without the use of solvents or impregnation with artificial combustion enhancers, such as liter fluid, which might tend to impart undesired taste to the food being cooked and which might have an undesirable environmental impact. The present invention solves this problem by allowing the user to employ paper, or other natural kindling, to ignite cold, unimpregnated charcoal briquets in an ignition chamber. The chamber communicates, through a distributive aperture plenum chamber, with a turbo air blower which supplies air under pressure to increase the combustion rate of the briquets. This enables cold briquets to be brought to operating temperature in a matter of minutes and without use of the solvents or other artificial materials.
Another problem solved by the present invention is that of even distribution of hot briquets across the surface of the char grill without removal of the cook grill. Even distribution of hot briquets was formerly accomplished by manual removal of the cook grill and manual distribution of hot briquets across the surface of the char grill. The present invention has a vertically and rotationally movable elevator which engages the char grill, after delivering hot briquets thereto, and rotates the char grill to evenly distribute the hot briquets by means of centrifugal force.
Another problem not properly addressed by prior art devices is clean and efficient ash removal. In conventional bowl cookers, ash removal is accomplished by removal of both the cook grill and the char grill with subsequent overturning of the bowl and dumping of the ashes into an external receptacle. Residual, partially burned briquets, must be removed manually from the surface of the char grill and stored externally for future use, if any. The present invention provides rotatable plough blades which are attached to the char grill and which conform to the shape of the interior of the bowl. Upon rotation of the elevator and char grill, the plough blades rotate and transport ashes from the bowl bottom to a closed removable collection chamber for clean and efficient disposal.